Essential Oils
Pure essential oils and aromatherapy blends for your diffuser, bath or a homemade massage oil. We explain which oils suit beginners, why every drop needs diluting, and how to store bottles so the aroma lasts.Read more →
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Choosing and using pure aromatherapy oils
What essential oils are, in plain words
Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts. Most are made by steam distillation: steam passes through flowers, leaves, wood or resin and carries the aromatic compounds with it. Citrus oils are usually cold pressed from the peel. One small bottle takes a lot of plant material, which is why lemon oil costs a few pounds and rose oil costs many times more.
These are aroma products, not food supplements, so we make no health claims about them. You use them in a diffuser, in a bath blend, or diluted in a base oil for massage. If you would rather take a plant ingredient by mouth, look at our capsules and drops with lavender in supplement form instead.
The forms differ more than the labels suggest
- Pure single oils: one plant, undiluted. The most flexible option, and the form we list with its botanical name so you know exactly which plant you have.
- Blends: several oils mixed for a consistent aroma. Convenient for diffusers, less useful if you like to mix your own.
- Pre-diluted roll-ons: already mixed into a base oil and ready for skin. A calm start if counting drops feels fiddly.
- Absolutes: extracted with solvents instead of steam, used for jasmine and rose. Heavier, longer-lasting scent, higher price.
Any skin use needs a base. Sweet almond, jojoba and coconut all work well, and you can browse our nourishing oils for skin to find one.
How we choose the oils we stock
We look at three things: the plant and its exact species, the strength you actually apply, and combinations that make sense together. That is why we name the species, not just "lavender": Lavandula angustifolia and spike lavender smell different and are used differently. We prefer suppliers who can show batch testing for each lot, and we avoid the phrase "therapeutic grade", because no authority defines it. Every product passes our compliance team before it goes live, we test products ourselves and independent labs spot-check batches. We also buy directly from the brands, with no intermediaries in between. You can read how we select brands and products.
Who these oils suit, and what to expect
Lavender, sweet orange and peppermint are sensible places to begin: widely used, easy to blend and inexpensive enough to experiment with. Cold-pressed citrus oils can make skin react to sunlight, so keep them off exposed skin for around twelve hours. Never apply an oil neat, patch test a new blend on your forearm first, and store bottles out of reach of children and pets.
Be realistic about the result. A well-chosen oil gives a clear, pleasant scent that can anchor a routine, for example an evening wind-down alongside the products in MIND + SLEEP. That is a genuine benefit, and it is also the limit of what we will promise. Citrus oils in particular lose their freshness within about a year of opening, so buy the size you will realistically finish and keep the cap on tight.
Frequently asked questions
Most people use them for scent and routine: a few drops in a diffuser, a blend in the bath, a massage oil, or as fragrance in homemade soap and candles. In the UK they are sold as aromatic and cosmetic products, not as medicines, so we describe how they smell and how to use them rather than what they treat.
If you are looking for a plant ingredient to take by mouth, our peppermint capsules and extracts are the better place to look.
It depends on how much mixing you want to do. Pure oils give you control and the lowest cost per drop. Blends save time. Roll-ons are the simplest for skin because the dilution is already done for you.
| Form | Ready for skin | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Pure single oil | No, dilute first | Mixing your own blends |
| Blend | Check the label | Diffusers, quick use |
| Pre-diluted roll-on | Yes | Beginners, travel |
| Absolute | No, dilute first | Perfumery, floral scents |
No. Undiluted oils can cause irritation and, over time, lasting sensitivity to that oil. Mix them into a base oil such as sweet almond or jojoba, then patch test on your forearm and wait a day. Children need much lower strengths than adults, and the youngest should not have oils on their skin at all.
| Age group | Dilution | Drops per 10 ml base oil |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 years | Not on skin | 0 |
| 2 to 6 years | Diffusion preferred | 0 |
| 6 to 12 years | 0.5 to 2% | 1 to 4 |
Start low. Three to six drops in a standard water tank is enough for most rooms, and you can always add one more. Run the diffuser in short sessions rather than all day, roughly half an hour to an hour at a time, with fresh air in between. Your nose adapts quickly, so continuous diffusing mostly uses up oil without adding much scent. Keep the room ventilated, especially with children or pets around.
We do not recommend it. Oil does not mix with water, so drops stay concentrated and can irritate the sensitive lining of the mouth and stomach. Advice you see online about drops in a glass of water ignores that. Taking oils internally is something only a suitably qualified practitioner should guide, and it is not how we sell or describe them. For oral use, choose a food supplement made for that purpose.
Take a cautious approach. Keep bottles stored high up and closed, like medicines, because young children can open them. For babies under two, avoid oils on the skin entirely and keep diffusing brief and in a ventilated room. Avoid strong menthol oils such as peppermint near a small child's face.
In pregnancy, sensitivity to scent often changes and some oils, including clary sage, are usually avoided. Speak to your midwife or a qualified aromatherapist before starting.
It varies by oil. Cold-pressed citrus oils such as lemon, lime and grapefruit oxidise fastest and are usually past their best within about a year of opening. Woods and resins like sandalwood and frankincense hold up much longer. Amber or dark blue glass matters because light speeds up that breakdown, and so does warmth. Store bottles upright, capped, in a cool dark cupboard, and write the opening date on the label.
"100% pure" is meaningful only if the supplier can back it up, because oils can be stretched with cheaper oils or synthetic aroma compounds. "Therapeutic grade" is a marketing phrase: no authority or standards body defines it, so it tells you nothing on its own.
Look instead for the botanical name, the country of origin, a batch number and evidence of chemical analysis per batch. Those are the details we ask brands for, and they are also the details you can check yourself.
